On the authority of Abu Hurayrah Abdul Rahman ibn Sakhr (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying:

“What I have forbidden you, stay away from. What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. Verily, the people before you were destroyed only because of their excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

Takhreej

The wording above is actually that of Muslim. With similar other wordings, this haidth was recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, ibn Maajah, al-Shafi’ee in al-Umm , ibn Hibbaan al-Baihaqi and others.

The Circumstances

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) once addressed us saying: “O people, Allah has made the Hajj obligatory upon you.” A man said: “Ever year, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) remained quiet. The man repeated the question three times. Finally, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If I were to say ‘Yes’, it would become obligatory upon you and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you with. Verily, the people before you were destroyed because of their excessive questioning and their opposition to their prophets. If I order you to do something, do what you can. If I prohibit you something, leave it.”